Join us this week – stalls, medicines and under the knife

Saturday 12 Oct Leeds KONP stall 11am in Headingley outside Sainsbury’s. Any help appreciated or just drop by to say hello

Thursday 17th Oct 7pm Leeds Hospital Alert Public meeting on What will Happen to the Supply of \medicines after 31st Oct. at St. Margaret’s Parish Church ,Church Lane, Horsforth LS18 5LA

Friday 18th October, 7.30pm “Under the Knife” film screening at HEART in Headingly organised by Leeds KONP . Book a place free at http://www.undertheknifefilm.co.uk/screenings

Saturday 19th October 10.30 – 4.30pm Trade Union Climate Change Conference , Notre Dame College

Register free at http://www.tiny.cc/crisis2019

22nd October 1.30pm Leeds Adults, Health and Active lifestyles Scrutiny Board in the Civic Hall.

YEP letter – NHS bungs for elections not needed, substantial long term capital assessment of NHS needs is

Letter in YEP from Dr John Puntis

Dear Sir,
re: Game-changing NHS investment is long overdue; YEP Sept 30th 2019
word count: 299
It would be wonderful to have a state of the art children’s hospital, however, I agree with your editorial that we should believe it when we see it. The prime minister has said “40 new hospitals will be built”, while 34 are in fact ‘old hospitals’ being given around £9m each for repairs and drawing up future unfunded plans (the LGI developments cost £450m); £2.7bn goes to six trusts with hospitals badly in need of upgrading. The General Infirmary would normally call this additional ‘wings’ rather than ‘new hospitals’.

The current backlog of NHS maintenance in England amounts to >£6bn – work urgently needed to address patient safety issues. Dozens of NHS trust upgrade projects have been delayed or cancelled and a realistic figure for investment would be £3bn every year for the next 5 years; David Prior, chairman of NHS England suggests £50bn overall.

Experience suggests that prime ministerial promises to the NHS need to be taken with a pinch of salt. A recent pledge of £1.8bn for capital funding turned out to be mostly money that trusts already had but were forbidden from using. Similarly, £25m ‘given’ for palliative and end of life care was money diverted from other services.

In properly funding the NHS, over 100,000 staff vacancies, future plans for public heath spending as a way of decreasing demand for health care, and investment in social care would all need to be taken into account.

Rather than a bung to the electorate, what is needed is a substantial long-term capital settlement allocated on the basis of a clear assessment of the NHS’s needs. So lets hope the children of Yorkshire do get to benefit from a new wing in the Infirmary, but don’t hold your breath, because you can’t always believe what you are told.

Dr John Puntis, Chair Leeds Keep Our NHS Public

NHS Funding response from Keep Our NHS Public

Leeds Hospital Alert

40 little white lies – hospitals are neither 40 nor new

KONP’s reply to the Boris Johnson election propaganda misinformation bandwagon

34 out of the ‘40 new hospitals’ announced by BorisJohnson in time for the Tory Party conference today, are in fact EXISTING hospitals which are being given only £100 million BETWEEN THEM for repairs. So Johnson and Health Minister Hancock are caught lying again. In fact there is a £6 billion deficit in new building, repairs and equipment. The NHS has only a SEVENTH of the funds necessary to bring the provision of scanners up to the EU average level!

The misleading promise of a ‘capital injection’ has to be set against the current £6bn deficit. Even then, the money is over 5-10 YEARS. Coming in two waves (ripples compared to what is needed), £2.7bn is said to rebuild six hospitals by 2025 NOT NEW hospitals; and £100m in…

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We would love to see you at our next meeting – here’s what’s been happening

Notes of our last meeting with a recent statement from national KONP re the Tories latest announcement re £30bn … well maybe less than 3bn ….for 40 new hospitals … or maybe 6 not so new hospital redevelopments. There is delight in Leeds that the plans for new build at LGI may have got its legs – as long as you can trust Boris Johnson !!

LEEDS_KONP_mtg_26.9.19

John is writing to the YEP who are always keen to have readers’ letters so do give it a shot if you feel like pitching in on this or any other issues.

The mental health summit on Saturday in London went very well with moving and shocking testimony from survivors, parents, relatives of people who have committed suicide, psychologists, clinicians, campaigners as well as stories of fighting back against desperately inadequate services and lots of enthusiasm and positive ideas for working together on common goals.

The demonstration against Austerity on Sunday organised by The People’s Assembly , Unison et al was stunningly well attended despite the weather ranging from fine drizzle to steady rain and there were stirring speeches from Labour shadow Cabinet ministers, including Richard Burgon from Leeds and Angela Raynor, Frances O’ Grady from the TUC, Louise Irvine GP from KONP and lots more

Coming up soon :

11.10 2.15 – 4.15 Yorkshire Health Campaigns Together Network Meeting at Mill Hill Chapel in City Square.

12.10 KONP STALL, Headingley 11am- 12.15ish outside Sainsbury’s on Headingley Lane near the pedestrian lights

17.10. 7.30 Public Meeting on What will Happen to the Supply of Medicines after 31^st Oct. organised by Leeds Hospital Alert at St. Margaret’s Parish Church ,Church Lane, Horsforth LS18 5LA

18.10 “Under The Knife” film at HEART 7.30pm Please get a free ticket asap at www.undertheknifefilm.co.uk/screenings as half the seats were taken yesterday:

Under_the_Knife_flier_U_T_K_A5_flyer

19.10 Leeds TUC Climate Change Conference. 10.30-4.30 at Notre Dame College . Book places at www.tiny.cc/crisis2019

NEXT MEETING will be on Wednesday 9th October 6.30 – 8pm in The Victoria Hotel, directly behind the Town Hall

Private Healthcare in Leeds – a photo story

Don’t be in the dark, join us

Pdf version: In_the_dark_banners

Join us in September and October – Free for All and Under the Knife

Don’t forget Banner Theatre’s Free For All show on 20th Sept. – 7.30 at Seven Arts Centre in Chapel Allerton,  £5 tickets via https://www.sevenleeds.co.uk asap! Banner Theatre is promising powerful songs, dynamic music, unique video footage and moving story telling.

and

Friday 18th October “ Under the Knife” film showing, HEART, Headingley – free! It includes footage of Yorkshire campaigners. The film is being launched at the Curzon in London later this month with quite a fanfare then showings will take place across the country the week beginning 14th October. Other showings are being planned

The West Yorks and Harrogate Integrated Care System is up and galloping! Some excerpts

If you want to hear more or challenge the plans you can come along to the public “gallery” at

– Leeds Health and Wellbeing Board 16.9 at 1.50pm at the Moyes Centre, Bishop Way, Seacroft LS146NU and/or

– Leeds Adults, Health and Active Lifestyles Scrutiny Board on 17.9 1.30 in the Civic Hall .

Meanwhile please see and sign the petition against Trade Deals which KONP has worked on with We Own it an, Global Justice et al. https://weownit.org.uk/nhs-trade-deal-action

Join us demonstrating at the Tory Party Conference Sunday 29th Sept. assembling 12 noon in Oxford Road, Manchester. You can book places on Leeds Trades Council coach at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/leeds-coach-to-manchester-to-the-protest-against-tory-party-conference-tickets-71996065169

And there is still time to book places on the Mental Health Summit in London organised by KONP , Health Campaigns Together and Mental Health Time for Action. Sat. 28th September at the Royal Free Hospital in London 10-5pm. Info and booking at https://keepournhspublic.com/its-time-to-act-mental-health-crisis-summit-launched/

Hope to see you at the next meeting on Wed 25th September 6.30-8pm which will focus on developing our campaign strategy for the coming months. We need your ideas !

Join us tomorrow evening

An update re the Bradford Royal Infirmary workers struggle against being transferred into a Wholly Owned Subsidiary.

What Johnson is or isn’t promising the NHS.

The relentless march of the West Yorks and Harrogate Integrated Care System which is meeting for the 2^nd time tomorrow in Wakefield.

Resistance to the NHS being subject to trade deals with the US.

The latest from Reclaim Social Care.

Election or no election ! etc

We will have fliers for Banner Theatre’s “Free For All” show on the NHS at SEVEN ARTS CENTRE in Chapel Allerton on September 20^th, info re “Under The Knife” film showings, the Health Campaigns Together Summit on mental health in London on Saturday 28^th September and the march at the Tory Conference on Sunday 29^th September.